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Nuehrm'va
Classification Mammal Species Rank Class A - While they are physically frail, they still compose a major part of the IGPA military with unmanned drones, cybernetically-enhanced warriors, and mastery of electronic and cyberwarfare. This, combined with their ability to reproduce quickly in times of need, has given them a military edge over most other races in the IGPA. Appearance and Biology Nuehrm'va are frail humanoids, and their height makes what muscles they have look even smaller. An average Nuehrm'va female is 8'11", and an average male is 9'5", with neither sex weighing more than 100 lbs. Nuehrm'va are almost entirely female; there are only 17 males on their entire homeworld, all of them residing in the Uhlli Syndicate's headquarters in the global capital, Enjh. Males are taken from birth and raised in luxury, and despite everything they are given --the rare and expensive food, the finest clothes, the best entertainment-- they have no political power, and are never taken as representatives in the councils. They are simply kept in the massive headquarters, all with access to each other for communication. The Syndicate keeps them under all-day surveillance, with no fewer than five thousand guards throughout the headquarters at any time. Physically, the differences between males and females are not as pronounced as in humans, save for natural markings covering the flesh of males, which are usually later enhanced with tattoos, adding further personal detail, though not changing the shapes. All females receive tattoos denoting their caste, Syndicate organization, and clan at the first signs of puberty. They also religiously must cover their faces, with most choosing gas masks using traditional cultural designs from their clan, with variations based on caste. While this, in some opinions, erases their individuality, they may choose to wear any clothes they wish, often prefering tight, soft clothing with a few loosely hanging decorative touches. Before they reach puberty, they wear a uniform appropriate to their caste, organization, and clan, though this tradition is fading slowly. Nuehrm'va blood is black, comprised almost entirely of carbon and mercury, and therefore poisonous to Terran humans. Lifespan, Birth, and Aging Nuehrm'va are born through sexual means, though they don't date, and love is irrelevant to reproduction (they don't mind sex for pleasure, and interspecies relationships are fine, since there are no known alien diseases that can pass on to them). Those wishing to reproduce petition the Syndicate for reproductive rights with one of the males, which requires the signatures of a hundred friends or family members verifying that they will raise the child properly, and they must sign, themselves, to promise any males they birth will be given to the Syndicate freely. Once this is achieved, the Syndicate and the ahwlreih (mother-to-be) set an appointment for the occasion. On the appointed day, the ahwlreih is shuttled to the Syndicate headquarters and tested for any and all diseases or genetic issues, and if deemed worthy, are given an hour to spend with a male in a private room equipped with anything they could possibly need, including holographic projectors and pheremone-enhancing lotions. Nuehrm'va give birth, after 5 months gestation, to litters of 12 to 18 children. If there are any males, the Syndicate takes them, showering the mother with gifts and money, as well as offering her a position in the Enjh Council. It should be noted that while the Syndicate has power over reproduction, they have no official authority over anything else related to sex or relationships, regardless of the gender or species involved. Nuehrm'va live between 120 and 140 years. Females reach reproductive maturity at 16, and males reach it at 7. Note that this is at the end of their brief period of puberty (females begin at 12, males at 6). Once puberty is over, they are fully adults in body. Stillbirth of a male is a serious crime, and the Syndicate refuses to ever allow the mother to reproduce again, informing the other syndicates, causing them to be blacklisted everywhere on every Nuehrm'va colonized world. Additionally, if they are found to be in a sexual relationship with a member of any race on any of these planets, they are subjected to complete removal of their reproductive system, and given a full-body tattoo representing the Dead Caste, an unofficially recognized caste whose members are considered dead by every race, and therefore untouchable and unmentionable. There is a stigma attached to having a member of the family transferred to the Dead Caste, despite the numerous attempts to make negative treatment toward them because of their unfortunate "loss" illegal. Technology Nuehrm'va have been forced to focus on developing technology to protect themselves, resulting in them being one of the most technologically-advanced races in existance. They specialize in electronic and cyberwarfare, often hijacking ships remotely when possible, and disabling defense systems. They once won a war with the Ijjai by taking out their Global Defense System with a virus that ended up killing thousands of ijjai connected to the CPUs. Their frail bodies have also helped them develop advanced prosthetics that function on brain waves and are powered by bio-electicity. While this technology is still in its early stages, it is showing promise, and is being used by almost a thousand Syndicate guards. They call these tank-like guards Fhei'Nu:el, the word for an ancient Enjh clan's goddess' warriors, who according to legends could crush the skull of an opponent from across the room by flicking a pebble off the palm of their hand. The technology isn't quite at that stage, but the Council tries to keep it a secret. Another secret the Council has tried to keep is that they have created several fully-functioning AIs. They've placed strictly-coded rules in their programming to prevent them from reproducing, or even being reproduced by outside sources, with safeguards that cause the AI to erase itself if it manages to bypass this. The Priest caste has been trying to convince the other four castes for well over a millenium that these AI should be given rights as their own race, but the Merchant caste has proprietary rights on their software, and the Scientist caste debates that if they gave them rights, they couldn't hide their existance from the other races of the IGPA, as they developed them without proper authority initially. Regardless, the Priest caste of Hy'elle added a deity to the pantheon a thousand years ago to represent it. It's a poorly guarded secret that mysteriously hasn't been getting a lot of attention until recently. Weaponry Nuehrm'va are not effective fighters, and most guns would break their bones, so they rely more on stealth than their actual weapons, generally choosing narrow, short blades, and aiming for vital points. This is true of all nuehrm'va except the fhei'nu:el, whose enhancements allow them to use much heavier weapons, including assault rifles and light machine guns. Their weight still prevents them from using anything heavier. Many have weapons built into their replaced limbs. Caste System There are 5 Nuerhm'va castes: Warriors, Priests, Merchants, Workers, and Scientists. There is an unofficial 6th caste that the males belong to, however, as they have to give up their previous caste for the Syndicate: Breeders. The Council dismisses all attempts to give the males a caste, as it would mean having to give them representation within the Syndicate, which would, in theory, mean they could choose to stop breeding as a protest. As it is, if they were to choose to stop breeding, they could be flooded with hormone injections that change their appearance and make it difficult for them to think about anything except reproduction. Naming Nuehrm'va female names are merely constructions of genetics and social standing, followed by their given name, which is often only a syllible long. The first part of their name is their clan, followed by their Syndicate organization. Below are a list of the clans, followed by organizations that follow under that clan. Note that the number of clans is based on overall "breeding habits" of a particular clan, meaning the more organizations there are in a clan, the more people that clan has, with each organization having a maximum of twenty thousand people. Clans and Organizations *Evehr **Tegai **Onirei **Olegh **Heira *Nore **Enders **Deghe **Undu **Livh *Yelhu **Fenghji **Hon *Yaxhe **Heldghdt (Pronounced like "hate") **Guenhsngi (Pronounced JIN-sa) **Kiee **Oieaoieoaieeio (Pronounced o-ya-YAE-o) **Hunngsi **Ula **Yepiidsnogn (Pronounced ya-PISH-no) **Heldere *On **Anai Homeworld Their homeworld is next in their name. This is the name of the world they were born on, not the world their clan originated on. A Nuehrm'va of the On clan and Anai organization born on Eduun, for example, would have a name starting in On Anai Eduun, despite the On clan originating on Nuehrm almost twenty thousand years ago. Before colonization of other worlds started, this was instead their home nation, so if one was born in the nation of Telfs, it would be Telfs. Rank The rank of the individual. This section is in three parts, in the following order: Clan, Organization, and Caste. Ranks for clan are: *Ulengh (Servant, Janitor) *Ina (Apprentice, Student) *Aria (Master, Teacher) Organizations have regular business titles, as any other world's organizations would have. A network administrator would have "Network Administrator" in their name. Unique to the Nuehrm'va are their assassin ranks, with each caste having its own assassins, each using different means to eliminate targets.These assassins don't generally give out their names except to those they're ordered to trust. *Avatar - Avatars are used by the Priest caste. They use extensive cybernetics, often with religious symbols covering their bodies. *Gremlin - These are worker assassins. They sabotage equipment in order to cause accidents. *Phantom - Warrior caste assassins who stealthily enter buildings to kill important targets with sneak attacks, then leaving immediately. *Poltergeist - The assassins of the Scientist caste, who use cybercombat to gain control of the enemy's weapons to make them "lose" their safeguards that protect their own users. *Succubus - Merchant caste assassins that kill often with poison. They make a personal connection and exploit it. There is a stigma attached to having a non-assassination relationship with one, especially since they seem so cold outside of their jobs. Caste titles are dependant on the caste. A warrior caste individual would have military ranks, for example, while a scientist would have security clearance, a priest would have their rank in the church, and a merchant or worker would have another, additional job description. Given Name Second to last, the Nuehrm'va are given a name by their parents. As said before, this is typically only a syllible or two long. It can be anything the parents want, as there is no regulation of names, nor is there any social stigma to having an "undesirable" name in another culture. Caste Finally comes the caste of the individual, though this is often left off in anything unofficial, as it's implied by their caste rank. It's simply "of the" followed by their caste, such as "of the Warrior Caste." Male Names Male Nuehrm'va have much simpler names. It's "Uhlli Ariie" followed by their given name, meaning they belong to the Uhlli Syndicate, which is a joint of all five castes, all clans, and all homeworlds, and that they are a master of their implied caste of "breeder." The Dead Caste Those of this caste are stripped of their name and identity, and given the uniform name Imbeghcha (eve-JA), meaning "Dead One." Those caught using their former names after a grace period of one month are privately executed (usually by an Avatar), usually being led through the streets to a secluded and peaceful place, where they are killed in a style similar to that described at the end of "Of Mice and Men": A bullet to the base of the neck while being told of the beauty of the afterlife. Homeworld and Colonies Nuehrm - The homeworld of the Nuehrm'va (their name means "Nuehrm Born"). It is primarily tropical forests and deserts, with borderlands of volcanos and grasslands. The planet itself is small, meaning lower gravity than elsewhere, resulting in poor posture on ships with simulated gravity or on larger planets. Eduun - The first colony they founded. While their language implies that those born on Eduun should be called Eduun'va (which is the official name), most simply call them Nuehrm'va for simplicity. Hy'elle - After several attempts to colonize large worlds, another attempt was made at habitating a small world with abundant resources. Hyelle was the sixth colony, and provides almost half of the Nuehrm'va resources. Trivia Despite their language implying they should call anyone by their race by their homeworld followed by 'va, they only refer to the Faera, Phrariuen, and Yu Ghreda as such, and never directly to them. It is a little known fact that the Kama Sutra, written by Terran humans, was "inspired" by information "gathered" by a human with a Nuehrm'va. Some acts were also witnessed, by the same human, involving a male nuehrm'va alternating between a female of his own species and a human female, as part of a reproductive contract. While their bones break fairly easily compared to those of other races, their skin is extremely resilient, and does not permit airborn toxins to pass, nor does it tear in sandy winds. It also repairs itself remarkably quickly when damaged, with a papercut fully healing in less than a day, and a gaping chest wound (assuming survival) only a week or so. Their bones heal fairly quickly, as well, with a cast only needed for 2 to 7 days, and the bone being mended in whatever state it was in longest. This allows them to live in even the harshest of toxic climates, so long as they have something covering their eyes, nose, and mouth, preferably with something purifying or converting the air to make it similar to that of their home planet. Category:Race